ASHOK KUMAR SINGH Vs. MOHAN SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) All these appeals have been heard analogously as they arise out of the common judgment and award passed by the 2nd Additional District Judge-cum-Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Muzaffarpur in Claim Case Nos. 92, 93 and 94 of 1993.

(2.) All the above mentioned three claim cases have arisen out of the same accident which had taken place on 24.6.1993 on National Highway No. 28 near Panapur Chowk, District Muzaffarpur due to alleged dashing of bus bearing registration No. BR-06A-6751 with Maruti van bearing registration No. BPQ 6131 in which the applicants Amit Kumar Singh (Claim Case No. 92 of 1993), Ashok Kumar Singh, Abha Singh, Akamsha Singh, Anubha Singh and Ramesh Kumar Thakur (Claim Case No. 93 of 1993) sustained injuries and deceased Shakuntala Singh sustained grievous injuries and succumbed to injuries. The injured persons are the claimants in the two claim cases as mentioned above and the heirs of Shakuntala Singh had preferred the other claim case.

(3.) The case of the claimants is that deceased Shakuntala Singh along with her minor son Amit Kumar Singh aged about 121/2 years and other relatives Ashok Kumar Singh, his wife Abha Singh and their minor daughters, namely, Anubha Singh and Akamsha Singh were travelling in the Maruti van as mentioned above going to Motihari from Patna. Driver Ramesh Kumar Thakur was driving the Maruti van when he reached near Panapur in between Muzaffarpur and Motihari on National Highway No. 28, the offending bus as mentioned above being rashly and negligently driven came from the opposite direction, dashed the same Maruti van causing top side down of the van and seriously injuring the deceased and other persons in the Maruti van. It was further alleged that the offending bus was driven in reckless way and although driver took Maruti to his extreme left and blew horn but the bus dashed against Maruti van with high speed resulting in the death of Shakuntala Singh almost instantly and injuries to the other occupants. Minapur P.S. Case No. 60 of 1993 was instituted and police submitted charge-sheet under section 304-A of the Indian Penal Code read with other sections against the driver of the bus. Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. was the insurer of the bus while Shailendra Kumar Singh was its owner. The insurer, owner and the driver all were made opposite parties in the three claim cases. All the three claim cases were tried together and separate written ments were filed by the insurance company alone. Usual defences were taken by the insurance company in its written statements together with a pleading that it is a case of contributory negligence and when the owner, driver and the insurance company of Maruti van were not made parties the claim petitions were fit to be rejected. Both parties adduced evidence and on consideration of the evidence on record the Tribunal found that it was the bus alone which was responsible for negligence in occurrence of the accident and hence as the insurance company had coverage of the vehicle at the relevant period the insurance company alone was held liable to pay compensation in all the cases. In the case of compensation for injuries sustained and for mental agony, shock, etc., the learned Tribunal has granted Rs. 3,000 each to all the injured persons as no documents could be proved or filed for and on behalf of the injured regarding their loss of profession. Some medical prescriptions were filed which showed only meagre and minor injuries and in that way compensation has been assessed to the extent of Rs. 3,000 per head to the injured persons. Regarding deceased Shakuntala Singh compensation has been assessed to the tune of Rs. 4,18,000 with interest at the rate of 10 per cent per annum from the date of the application till its realisation.